About

Two years of appointments with the Pediatric Cardiologists has led us to this. We now know that open heart surgery is the only option to ensure our son’s healthy and happy future. This is a story of our journey as a family from William’s diagnosis, appointments, to awaiting his MRI, surgery and recovery. We are hoping that through sharing our story we will be able to help other people who are going through something similar.

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2 thoughts on “About”

Steven

Hello Kunz family,

I came across your story through a Heart & Stroke Foundation advertisement and felt inclined to reach out and share some words of encouragement. I am a very happy and healthy 33 year old former Sick Kid (former patient of Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto) living with congenital heart disease and my life is absolutely amazing. I will try to keep my story short but I hope that you will see similarities in your journey and find solace knowing that William is going to be alright.

Being born with a rare birth defect called Tetralogy of Fallot (occurring in only 0.039% of births in the US) my health condition plunged my parents into a world of uncertainty and stress. For the first 4 years of my life I was often out of breath after any physical activity with my skin turning blue due to a lack of oxygen. My father became a master at giving piggy back rides as I didn’t have the energy to walk for more than a few minutes. So after many ECGs, echocardiograms and checkups with my cardiologists it was determined that I would have my first open heart surgery at age 4. Were my parents scared? Simply put, yes. Was I scared? Of course(!), but my parents had the strength to keep a smile on their face no matter how stressful the situation and they had me convinced that everything was going to be okay. And guess what, it actually was! I spent the rest of my childhood growing and acting like every other kid on the block. Sure, I wasn’t able to join the running team at school but I definitely kept up and even surpassed my classmates in other sports like hockey and volleyball.

Since my first surgery I’ve had a few more corrective heart procedures and even a catheterization or two. I’ve definitely had my fair share of ECGs, MRIs and echocardiograms along the way and my health card has been swiped so many times it’s now as thin as paper! But I’m happy to report that I’m living a complete and happy life. I’ve graduated from university, travelled the world, am actively playing sports several times a week and bought a house a few years ago.

I am so happy to write this message to you because I’m truly excited for William. Honestly! William is being given a gift of an amazing life ahead with endless opportunities. I know this is scary and I understand your stress but guess what……..according to my parents keeping a teenage William out of trouble is way more stressful!

I’m wishing you all the best leading up to William’s amazing health day and I can’t wait to read about how great he’s doing.